In certain disaster or disease situations, it is often necessary to immediately isolate the victims. For example, in a situation such as a hazardous chemical spill or the deliberate or accidental release of lethal toxins, diseases, or other a biological contaminants (hereinafter referred to generally as a biohazard), the bodies of the victims may represent a danger, especially to medical and rescue personnel dispatched to the scene of the disaster. Onlookers and funerary staff are also at risk. Often, the cause of death is not immediately discernible, and accordingly medical personnel cannot determine specific measures for decontamination of the victims in sufficient time to prevent danger to others. Even if the cause of death is determined, often suitable decontamination procedures are not available for certain types of biohazards. In these situations, the primary goal is immediate containment of the corpse to allow rescue, medical, and other personnel to continue their work with a measure of safety.
In a disaster involving a biohazard, full autopsy procedures may be neither necessary nor, depending on the biohazard involved, advisable. However, some limited procedures may be necessary. For example, the body of the victim must be identified to allow notification of family members. Limited access to the victims personal effects may therefore be necessary. If available, some measure of decontamination may be desirable, particularly in cases where the cause of death remains active, such as nerve gas or a biological hazard such as smallpox. Some funerary procedures, such as embalming, may also be desirable. In such cases, a primary concern is still containment of the biohazard-contaminated victim to protect others.
It is conventional practice for storing and transporting deceased individuals to place the bodies in containment vessels, generally referred to as “body bags.” Such body bags are effective for their intended purpose under normal situations. However, in the case of a disaster involving biohazardous substances, conventional body bags do not provide the required level of containment to assure the safety of others. Additionally, most conventional body bags are opaque. Even in those bags that allow limited viewing, when some post-mortem examination or procedure is required, the conventional body bag must be opened to allow access to the victim, increasing the risk to others.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a means for storing/transporting deceased victims, while preventing the spread of the biohazardous cause of death. There is further a need in the art for such a containment system which allows limited procedures, such as identification of the victim, rapid and safe analysis of the contaminant, decontamination if possible, and funerary procedures.